Former CDER official joins Greenleaf Health, biosimilars experience in tow

May 22, 2014 4:12pm

Welcome to this week's Chutes and Ladders, our roundup of hirings and firings throughout the industry. Please send the good word--or the bad--from your shop to Michael Gibney (email | Twitter) or Emily Mullin (email | Twitter) and we will feature it here at the end of each week.

Former CDER official joins Greenleaf Health, biosimilars experience in tow

Dr. Rachel Sherman, former director of the Office of Medical Policy at the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, joined Greenleaf Health as a principal. At the CDER, among other areas, Sherman worked on biosimilars policy and the new Breakthrough Therapy Designation. As an internist and an infectious disease subspecialist, Sherman joins a sizable list of former FDA officials at the consulting firm, including former FDA Chief of Staff Patrick Ronan, who is currently Greenleaf's president. Release

Greenleaf HealthDr. Rachel Sherman joined as a principal of drug and biological drug products.

Purdue PharmaSaeed Motahari will be senior vice president and chief commercial officer.

Pharma

> Purdue Pharma named Saeed Motahari as the company's senior vice president and chief commercial officer. Motahari comes from AbbVie ($ABBV), where he was vice president of U.S. sales and marketing, specialty brands-new launches. Release

> Thomas "Tom" Parr, who has over 25 years of drug discovery experience, joined Spero Therapeutics as chief scientific officer. Release

> Dr. Mark Velleca, who can be credited with leading CGI Pharmaceuticals from the ground up until it was acquired by Gilead ($GILD) in 2010, took the helm at G1 Therapeutics as CEO. Release

> Nicholas Saccomano signed on to Array BioPharma ($ARRY) as chief scientific officer, while Robert Winkler joined as vice president of clinical research and development. Release